Any of you guys know about this DX Alto (heavy) Armor? The date on Tamashi says something about 25 March 2009.

Btw - I was informed by my supplier that the Super DXes are gonna' arrive next week. However, he's just bringing in limited quantities because that's all he's been allocated. That said, it's gotta bought in pairs too! Damage is expected to be about US$350 for both Ozma & Alto (awaiting official pricing). This sucks becos I only want to get Alto.

I love his camerawork and the fact that he lavishes so much time on these reviews, but given that I can't remember a toy he's actually liked, it's tough to tell how seriously to take his commentary ("I expected so much... but it's SO HALF-ASSED!")

What's with all the friggin' web specials for all the good stuff!? This hobby is starting to suck. One company finally makes a nicely-proportioned, perfect transformation, playable valk with diecast and all of a sudden they pull off tactics like this. Whatever happend to Bandai's usual mass-produce-and-kill-the-secondary-market strategy? I sure miss the days when they flood the market silly with their toys and I get them cheap. Hey, times are bad - shouldn't they be doing this now? Or has the focus shifted to selling limited quantities with steep margin to a niche market? Agh!

Agree that Bandai's marketing tactics are unsavory. They're simply milking this non-sacred cow franchise for every dime they can. And even for Gundam 00, they've held back on releasing the MG kits, 'forcing' the fans to buy the 'no-grade 1/100' versions first.

I thought you guys already went through Gundam Seed & Seed Destiny. ;P I'm not surprised they did this with Gundam 00 - though I must say, I am getting a bit impatient for an MG Exia (actually more so for the full armor version that resembles the S Gundam). It's starting to grow on me especially since I've started watching the series (I think it's actually the best to date!).

That said, what would REALLY upset me is if Bandai decides to release a Super officially say 3 months down the road. But this is only because I'm preparing to put my money down on the web-exclusively-overpriced versions this week (though I may still change my mind if any unpleasant event unfolds in the coming few days, money related).

With that - I'm eagerly awaiting their release!!! Especially the full armor version. Does anyone know if the full armor is a mere add-on to the Super, or would this be like the classic Supers which are totally incompatible with the GBP sets?

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the show...but it certainly wasn't for the mecha designs.

I just don't get down with this whole modern mecha aesthetic. Stuff looks all the same to me: robot turd. It's cool if you're into it...by all means, buy this toy if you're down!

I just like more classic designs. Simpler lines with sound fundamentals. Eye-catching geometry withough unnecessary spikes, angles, curves, and details that distract from what you're looking at.

Now that I think of it, I'd kill to watch a Macross series with as good writing (minus the moe) as Macross Frontier that took place during the original show. Basically, I just wanna see the original VF-1 series Valks animated as amazingly as the CG in Frontier.

Sanjeev Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Now that I think of it, I'd kill to watch a
> Macross series with as good writing (minus the
> moe) as Macross Frontier that took place during
> the original show. Basically, I just wanna see the
> original VF-1 series Valks animated as amazingly
> as the CG in Frontier.

Sanjeev: I couldn't agree with you more...I recently tried to watch the original Macross again and kept thinking to myself, "This really needs a new treatment." Tell the story again, tighten up the writing, bring the animation up to 21st century standards, and don't change ANYTHING about the design....Then sell me a boatload of reissue Valkyries in colors I don't already have...Hey Bandai who do I have to bump off to get this done...?

I think fel9 hit the nail on the head, though. I liked the pacing and action in Frontier...I guess that's what I meant. The original Macross story, though, is much better...I think it's more epic, yet personal.

Combine the two, get the best of both worlds...and make me a gods damn 1/55 Elintseeker reissue!!!

Sanjeev Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I think fel9 hit the nail on the head, though. I
> liked the pacing and action in Frontier...I guess
> that's what I meant. The original Macross story,
> though, is much better...I think it's more epic,
> yet personal.
>
> Combine the two, get the best of both worlds...and
> make me a gods damn 1/55 Elintseeker reissue!!!

Sanjeev: By your various gods YES...I swear that the ONLY thing that the yamato valks have going for them over the originals are all the freaky paint jobs...Id take a human life for a VF-1d painted reissue...well, maybe not take a life, but Id certainly beat someone until they wished they were dead for one...

Again you are right about Frontier. The pacing and action are much better than original Macross, but how much of that is due to modern techniques...Think of the Max and Millia showdown in that glorious modern style....or that battle on Mars...Hey they redid Battlestar Galatica with positive results (ymmv) why not...as I read in another thread everything old is new again...

I skipped Ozma & Alto because I wanted to wait for the Super versions, web exclusives or not. My supplier disappointed me when the stocks failed to arrive this week. But then again, I think he may have mistaken the Alto & Ozma for the Vf25G Michael Custom (Blue one) since the latter did come with the Super packs.*SIGH* As I couldn't wait any longer, I decided to pick Michael up today when I heard from MacrossWorld that it's already out locally.

Quite frankly, I never really liked the Michael Custom (MC) at first because I thought the head resembled some ugly one-eyed Zentradi mech. However, upon closer inspection of the head in some early reviews on the web, I found it rather acceptable and at the same time, I simply fell in love with the blue color scheme. SO I funally broke down and picked it up today after dropping my little girl for her Sunday class (actually, I bought it WHILE she was in class with my wife and managed to come back in time).

I must say, this toy met all my expectations. Everything they say about this toy is true - it's a hybrid of the Taka chunky-monkey and a perfect variable Yamato valk. It looks great, has really clever transformation, and I'm actually not afraid to break it at all while transforming it! Yup - I'm gad to say you can actually play with this. Best of all, nothing popped off during transformation either.

A lot of folks have probably described the Alto and Ozma to death so a detailed review of the basic valk unit alone would be redundant. I will however, focus on the armor. Bandai really learnt their lesson from the classic 80s Super armors. Remember how the teba break so easily and how some parts are just so damn tight and you had to force them in? Well - worry not. Most of the pieces are actually very easy to attach and remove (except the chest piece which is the tightest). That said, this may be to loose for some people's taste, but it sure works well for me. While certainly not as tight as the 80s Super packs, it's not like they'll drop off when you shake the toy. Also, the ease of removal means you won't leave any scuffings, scratches or stress marks on the main unit NOR the armor. Yup - put 'em on and remove 'em as often as you like.

Features on armor - the hip pieces have a joint to allow movement of the legs (probably to accomodate the legs of the gerwalk mode when they fold forward). The 2 protruding pieces from the back actually open up to reveal 'missles'. Sweet - I was afraid only the ones on the 1/72 kit would open up. Oh - there's also a joint on the front part of the leg armor so you can open up the hatch for the landing gears. There's only 1 quirk with the armor. Do you know the tiny side 'skirts' he has in the Battroid mode (just above the air intake sections in the fighter mode) which need to be folded to the rear? Well - there's actually armor pieces for these little sections, only they come attached with their own little sections. Yup, you have to take the whole 'skirt' out and swap them with a new skirt that comes attached with the armor. Don't worry, it'll pop off easily so you won't risk breaking the ball joint when you do this too often. OK - so that's it about the armor.

The sniper gun is just pure awesome - I just love the way it opens up. It gives one a better reason to pick up this variant than merely a new paint job and a different head (that's the trick Takatoku/Bandai/Yamato used on us for decades with the entire VF-1 line!!!). It even comes with a special connector so you could attach it below the belly in the fighter mode. It's just too bad if you do this, you'll need to use the stand - there's no way the short landing gears can reach the ground with this thing on.

Yes - I mentioned the word STAND. And that's just another reason this pick this up. The stand can cater for the 3 modes. They included different connectors/stands to accomodate this of course. Pure awesome.

In all - I still would have preferred a more standard-looking head - I'm more of a VF1S & VF1J kinda' guy rather than a VF1A/D one. Meaning to say I prefer my mech's head to at least have a lower face section, with or without a mouthplate. However, although I find the head slightly creepy-looking (come to think of it, it also looks like a pod from War of the Worlds), it does have very nice details - and I'd go for this rather than the Ozma purely because he's at least got a proper neck. In short, I really LOVE this toy - this is the BEST Macross line ever! I hope Bandai churns out the enture Macross line with this level of quality. I've just about had it with the VF1 series, Yamato did a splendid job, so I hope they'll skip this line entirely at least for the next 5 to 10 years and focus on the other lines like Macross Plus and Macross 7 & Macross Zero. Simply AWESOME! I'm definitely looking forward to the Ozma & Alto full armor pack (and the Alto Super). And I hope they'll do the VF-27 as well!

So, Amuro – the touch-and-fall-off hip armor didn't bother you at all? That was the single biggest problem I had with the toy. And you got yours from Ng? Or Roy? I was at CSC today sharing a stall with a couple of friends...

Drif, got mine from Ng's on Sunday after I saw the email notification from the Hangar (I know they'll hate me.. but I think they already do). I only had an hour to zip to CSC from Suntec and back so it was pretty much a grab and go mission for me (ever seen those extraction commando missions on the big screen?). I never got to do my usual rounds! That said, good thing I got what I needed because I was just trying out my luck.

Well - the hip armor doesn't bother me so much because I just leave my Battroid on the stand. It's nowhere as irritating as the hip armor on the Yamato 1/60 GBP1S. Man - those REALLY fall apart easy compared to this. After seeing your pics, I gotta try displaying the Fighter and Gerwalk modes on my stand when I get home tonight! Man, I wish I have the Super Alto so I can display them in both mdoes separately!